Its A Start
by Princess Dystopia
Summary: For so long, Kia has tried to grab the attention of the feared Gaara. But once the Chuunin exams are over and he returns, she starts to see a new side of him. GaaraxOC requested one-shot.


_Note:_ This one-shot was a request from Theresaturtleonmyceiling from Quizilla. I didn't expect it to be so short, but that's just how to it happened. I hope you enjoy it!

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><p>"This one isn't growing quite right," I whispered to myself, inspecting the crimson flower in front of me. Unlike the rest, this one was missing the bluish-green color in the middle. "I think I'll try to give it to him anyway."<p>

With the pot held securely in my arms, I stood outside my shop my mother owned: The Sunagakure Flower Shop. We had many customers simply because it was extremely difficult to grow flowers in this village.

Just a few more moments and he would be walking by with his siblings.

I'm not sure why I did this every month. Its not that I felt sorry for Gaara or that I was scared of him like everyone else. I just wanted to chance to talk to him, to understand what went through his head. I wanted to know why he acted the way he did.

Even though I grew these special kinds of plants in his image and offered them to him, he ignored me every single time. However, I didn't give up. For three years since my family moved from Konohagakure, I did this for him.

"Good afternoon, Gaara!" I greeted with an overly-friendly smile. The trio was walking my way, Gaara in the middle, of course. "This one didn't quite turn out like the others, but I hope you'll still like it."

Like always, he just walked past me, not even caring enough to glance at me. Temari, his older sister, gave me a weak grin and held out her hand for the pot. "I'll make sure he gets it. Its still pretty, Kia."

I bowed slightly to the blonde girl. "Thank you, Temari. Good luck with your training, Gaara!"

.:.:.:.

"Good morning, Gaara!"

Excitement welded in my stomach as the redhead stopped walking. Beside him, Kankuro began to shake. "C-Come on, Gaara. We have to keep focused."

It was then that I noticed the sand I was standing on was slowly creeping up my ankle, tightening its hold. Luckily, when Kankuro spoke to him, the sand stopped and slid back down to the ground where it belonged. I sighed in relief, mentally thanking him.

Gaara could've just killed me.

.:.:.:.

Half-way through the blistering month of June, word spread throughout the village of the Chuunin exams being held in Konohagakure. From the shop, I watched as Temari, Kankuro, and Baki make preparations for their trip.

"Do you think you guys will make Chuunin?" I questioned the two siblings one day as they too a break from hauling items back to their house.

"Of course," Kankuro replied boastfully. "I bet that whole village is full of nothing but little kids. It'll be easy."

"And with Gaara, how could we possibly not?" Temari shrugged. "Even though he isn't all there in the head, I'm glad he's on _our _team."

"So, you're leaving tomorrow?"

"Yeah. First thing in the damn morning," Kankuro growled, thinking about the hours of sleep he would lose because of it. I patted his arm sympathetically.

.:.:.:.

"Good luck with the Chuunin exams, Gaara," I told him as the team made their way past.

Something didn't look okay with any of them. Temari seemed incredibly upset, Kankuro had a strange blank look on his face, and Gaara didn't even seem to be fully conscious at all. It was as if his mind was miles away from his body.

"Are you guys oh…," I asked, then trailed off when Gaara suddenly locked gazes with me, delivering the most terrifying stare I'd ever seen, "…kay?"

"Kia, get in here!" Mother snapped, pulling me back into the shop by the back of my shirt and slamming the door. I struggled against her, trying my hardest to return to the siblings, but her grip was firm and I soon gave up.

_What's going on?_

.:.:.:.

About a month and a half flew by while I continued to experiment with my flowers. I kept the ones that resembled Gaara's hair and eyes safe and healthy, but at the same time, I'd learned how to make ones that reflected my own features.

"I might keep this one," I told myself, gently stroking the vivid golden petals. Unlike the Gaara flowers, mine had random speckles of cerulean scattered about the petals instead of being near the center.

"I don't understand how this could have happened," Mother's distressed voice came from the den. I placed my flower into the sunlight and made my way around the corner.

"I bet his son did it," Father told her. "Damn that Gaara. Now what are we going to do?"

"What's going on?" I demanded to know. I was only interested because he mentioned Gaara's name. When I saw Mother crying over the kitchen table, I knew something terrible happened. "Is Gaara okay?"

"The Kazekage is dead, Kia," Father said simply. "Of course Gaara is okay, but barely. Damn demon won't ever die."

"They're back?" I shouted. "Do you know where they are?"

"The hospital. The attack on Konoha wasn't quite the success we hoped for…" His voice trailed off to my mother. I blocked them out and hurried to my room, grabbing both a Gaara flower and my Kia flower. I had to hurry.

.:.:.:.

"Can I please see him?" I yelled at the receptionist who I'd been arguing with for a good ten minutes. I hated the atmosphere of the hospital. Everything felt and smelled so…clean. It was gross.

"I'm sorry, ma'am. He isn't in the condition to see anyone but family right now."

"I hate you!"

"Kia?" Temari's voice called. She was making her way down a nearby hallway. A few parts of her body were fixed with bandages, but it didn't look too serious. "I thought I heard you yellin-Oh, pretty flowers. I like the new design."

"Thanks," I breathed. "Is Gaara…?"

"He's…I don't know. He's still alive, but badly hurt." She shook her head, seemingly at a loss for words. "It didn't turn out how we planned. Orochimaru betrayed us and now…my brothers are hurt and our father is dead."

"Can I see him?"

"Family members only!" the receptionist snapped.

Temari glowered at her fiercely. "Will you shut up? She's his cousin!" she lied. "Come on, Kia. I'll take you to him, but don't freak out, okay?"

"Is he that bad?" I questioned, following close behind her. It felt as if she wasn't walking fast enough.

"Physically, no. But…you'll see."

The door to the hospital room slid open quickly and I scanned the place. Two occupied beds stood proudly, one holding a snoring boy I recognized as Kankuro, and the other holding Gaara. His back was propped up with a bundle of pillows and three empty glasses stood on the nearby table.

Gaara didn't seem to see me. He stared out the window, not even bothering to blink. Through the random bandages on his arms, chest, and face, he was bloodied. Honestly, it wasn't as bad as I'd expected. I was picturing torn limbs.

"Gaara," Temari said softly, as if speaking to a five-year-old, "you have a visitor."

Gaara's head slowly turned away from the window and he looked right at me. Something was very different about him. He didn't look as angry anymore.

"Hi, Gaara," I whispered, walking closer to him. Temari grabbed a chair from the corner of the room and placed it by the bed, offering it to me.

"Hello," he responded in a hoarse voice, then brought his fist to his mouth to clear his throat.

Temari patted my shoulder and moved over to Kankuro, fixing his blanket that had been kicked off, before leaving the room. Gaara watched me for a very long time, while I kept my gaze on the flowers.

"This is a new one, isn't it?" he questioned, touching a petal of the Kia flower. I was surprised at the amount of interest in his voice.

I nodded, trying to hide the smile that wanted to sneak its way onto my face. "I brought these for you. I know its probably stupid for a girl to bring a guy flowers, but…I don't know. This room is kind of boring. I was hoping it would add color."

Gaara gazed around the room, his eyes settling on his brother for a short moment before turning to me again. "It is boring, isn't it? Thank you for bringing them."

What had happened to him? Gaara had just _thanked_ me. That was unheard of. Usually a "thank you" from Gaara meant your leg being torn off by the sand and the rest of your body being beaten with it.

"Too hot!" Kankuro suddenly yelled in his sleep, kicking the blankets back off. He then circled his arms around his pillow and nuzzled his face into it.

I placed the flowers onto the table, grabbing the empty glasses. I stood up and brought them over to the sink, filling each of them back up for him. When I turned back around, he was fondling the Kia flower again.

"I like this one," he mumbled as I sat back down, returning the glasses.

"Thank you," I replied, feeling my cheeks heat up.

For a long while, we sat in silence. Well, almost silence. Kankuro's snores prevented that. From outside the room, nurses ran by the hallway. I wasn't sure what they were saying through the door, but I could only guess it was something about Lord Kazekage. His children didn't seem too upset that he was killed.

"I'm sorry," Gaara suddenly said, bringing me back from my thoughts. "I'm sorry for the way I've been treating you."

"Excuse me?" I said, receiving a strange look from the boy. He almost looked like I had hurt him. "That's not what I meant. Its just…its not like you to apologize…or thank somebody. I'm just not used to it, I guess."

"I suppose you're right."

The door to the hospital room opened and a nurse who seemed out of breath looked at me. "Visiting hours are over. You can come back tomorrow."

"Will you?" Gaara questioned as I took the chair back to its original spot.

"If you want me to."

"I'd like that. Kankuro isn't much for company."

I gave him a small smile. I was actually happy at the feeling of disappointment in my gut. I didn't want to leave. Even though we hardly said much, I enjoyed spending time with him.

"I never got your name," Gaara said when I turned to leave.

"I-Its Kia."

"Its nice to meet you, Kia."

I giggled and glanced down at the ground, not knowing quite what to say. "I'll see you tomorrow, Gaara," I finally told him, closing the door behind me.

As I walked down the hallway, glancing out at the dark sky, I couldn't help but laugh to myself. Not only did I make a new friend, but an idea for a new flower breed entered my mind. Yellow with red spots? Or red with those blue spots he liked so much? Or both?

_Well, it's a start._


End file.
